Medical Laboratory Scientist Salary

Medical Laboratory Scientist Salary In The US

The average salary for a medical laboratory scientist in the United States depends a lot upon the location of the job as well as on experience, but the median yearly wage is of around $58,000. However, it is not uncommon for the most skilled and experienced medical laboratory scientists to make up to $74,000 a year or even more, especially those who work in private practices.

Pay Scale In Different Parts Of The United States

According to data collected by the BLS, the clinical and medical laboratory scientists that work in California earn the highest median yearly wage, of approximately $78,000 a year. Also, other high average salaries that are of up to $69,000 a year can be achieved in states like the District of Columbia, Alaska, Massachusetts or Nevada. Amongst the lowest-paying states when it comes to medical laboratory scientists, there is Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arkansas.

Job Description Of Medical Laboratory Scientist

The medical laboratory scientists, also referred to as a clinical laboratory technologist or a medical technologist, these health care professionals deal with immunologic, hematological and chemical analysis of various bodily fluids, from stool and cerebrospinal fluid to blood and pericardial fluid. These professionals work in hospitals, doctor’s offices as well as clinical laboratories and they perform a wide array of tests.

Some of the most common tests include the complete blood count, liver function test, urinalysis, coagulation profile, electrolyte panel or the comprehensive metabolic panel. In some cases, routine cultures and semen analysis may be performed as well, and the medical laboratory scientists may also perform phlebotomy on the patients as this skill is a very important part of their practical training.

Programs:

Becoming a medical technologist or a medical laboratory scientist does require some degree of formal education, and these professionals typically need to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in biomedical science, clinical laboratory science or medical technology in order to get the training they so much need.

The certification must be provided only by an accredited training program, and most of the medical laboratory degree programs last for four years, although some of them require no more than three years. On the other hand, four plus one year programs are available as well, and this involves clinical rotations as well. Education is extremely important for medical laboratory scientists, not only because it helps them gain the knowledge and skills they so much need but because it will also help them get the clinical experience.

Certification

Certification and licensing are at least as important as the training itself, and it is extremely important to make sure that the certification is provided by the National Medical Laboratory Science Council or by the ASCP. After getting their licensing or certification, these health care professionals are entitled to use the MLS credentials following their names (before that they are commonly referred to as medical technologists). At the time being, the main certification agency for medical laboratory scientists consists of the American Society For Clinical Pathology And The National Credentialing Agency.

Medical Laboratory Scientists Salary In Canada, The United Kingdom And Australia

The average yearly salary for clinical and medical laboratory scientists varies from one country to another – for instance, in the United Kingdom they earn an average pay of 30,000 pounds a year, while their average salary in Canada is of up to C$65,000 within the same time frame. On the other hand, the median yearly wage of medical and clinical laboratory scientists in Australia is of AU$68,000 or even more, and the yearly wage usually goes up depending on the skills, background, education and experience of the health care professional.

The Verdict On Medical Laboratory Scientist Salary

To summarize, the salary of these health care professionals can vary a lot, but if you live in the United States of America and you are passionate about conducting various laboratory tests and using diagnosis tools, then California is undoubtedly the most prolific state for you in terms of salary. On the other hand, Australia and Canada also offer very encouraging paychecks to medical laboratory scientists, and the overall job outlook is excellent as well, as the medical industry needs as many trained professionals as it can get.